BERLIN.- This presentation from the Berlinische Galerie's collection to mark the museum’s fortieth anniversary is a multi-facetted tour through the art of Berlin from 1880 to 1980. It ranges from paintings of the late 19th century, when the Kaiser reigned and tastes were largely determined by the moneyed classes, via Expressionism and the East European avant-garde to post-war modern architecture and the “wild” works of the Seventies. Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the collection, there is a lively dialogue between paintings, prints, sculpture, photography and architecture. The show illustrates a diversity of artistic styles and credos, but also tensions, polarisations and fresh departures, which remain hallmarks of Berlin as an artistic hub. As a city of the modern age that is attracting more young international artists than ever before, Berlin is still a centre of permanent new beginnings.

The new presentation honours the latest additions to the collection, including landscapes and studies of nature by Walter Leistikow, Lesser Ury, Karl Hagemeister, Julie Wolfthorn and others who gravitated around the Berliner Secession: these were acquired in 2014 thanks to the Dr. Jörg Thiede-Stiftung, a charitable trust. The public will also be able to rediscover the work of the Expressionist Benno Berneis: paintings, drawings and documents from a private donation have enriched the holdings since 2014.

In 2016 the Berlinische Galerie will be celebrating one hundred years of Dada with a special exhibition. In this show, therefore, the collection’s holdings from the Dada movement, which are among its greatest treasures, have been condensed into a small selection.

The exhibition of the collection was prepared with the help of trainee curators.

Artists (selected) Anton von Werner, Max Liebermann, Walter Leistikow, F. Albert Schwartz, Lesser Ury, Ludwig Meidner, Benno Berneis, Oskar Kokoschka, Rudolf Belling, Iwan Puni, Naum Gabo, Sasha Stone, El Lissitzky, Otto Bartning, Marta Astfalck-Vietz, Erich Salomon, Jeanne Mammen, Felix Nussbaum, Hans Uhlmann, Karl Hofer, Werner Heldt, Robert Capa, Heinz Hajek-Halke, Hermann Henselmann, Fred Thieler, Georg Baselitz, Rainer Fetting, Michael Schmidt, Ralf Schüler und Ursulina Schüler-Witte.

Exhibition Architecture and Colour Design
David Saik has been collaborating with the Berlinische Galerie since winning an invited architecture competition for the new presentation of the permanent collection in 2011. The Studio’s 2011 architectural concept introduced 40 metre long parallel walls framing the central stair hall, opening to 17 new gallery spaces of varying size and proportion, each with a custom colour developed in close relationship to the exhibited artworks. This departure from the conventional “white cube” presentation continues with the 2015 reopening of the museum, where subtle changes to the original gallery structure are combined with a new wall colour concept – an evenly balanced range of dark to light greys with subtle red to yellow to blue hues – to create a new perspective on the permanent collection of the Berlinische Galerie.